Turn 2
Well, your mission to purify Japan was off to a… rocky start. Your men were well versed in basic everything. They knew the common sutras, they carried basic seals and they knew basic knowledge of almost every youkai recorded. And, you have an overflow of Lesser Seals and hihi blood, so you can recruit and arm new soldiers with minimal cost. These were all great things, and you were overjoyed to say that your organization had accomplished them. But, there were some downsides as well.
For one, you've yet to do more than react to the youkai attacks. This has the effect of really making you impatient. But you're reckless, not foolish. You'll arm your men as best you can before sending them out to cleanse the boiling darkness that runs deep in your nation. It doesn't help much when you're faced with the rising count of dead Japanese citizens, but everyone has to deal with troubling times. You're going to do this well, or not at all.
You are Kōan 9-ka, and you will purify Japan.
Martial: Your Military advisor is one Okimoto Ieyoshi. When asked what his service record was, he simply handed you a file with nothing but black lines in it. A man in his thirties, Okimoto is covered in various wounds and what seem to be acid burns cover half his face, and he's missing an eye. You were told due to his recent loss of vision; he was being taken out of active duty to assist you. While you had your doubts, he proved himself in how he trained with your troops. The man knows how to kill something, that's for sure. Pick 1
[] Recruit New Agents: There are many special forces operatives who went recruited do to a lack of spiritual capacity, but now you can change that. You have gallons upon gallons of hihi blood, and one drop is enough to allow a soldier to see youkai for the rest of their lives. It won't get past illusions, but the only things that can do that are seals, vigilance or a powerful will. In the end however, this gives you the chance to recruit those who are both skilled and disposable enough to be a part of your organization. Cost: 50 Upkeep: 20 Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Doubles your teams of Agents. Allows for two Agent rolls during Battle Turns.
[] Here Be Monsters-Mountains: Okimoto is cognizant of just how many goddamn monsters there are in the mountains. Frankly, there's a shit ton. Kotengu, oni, kijo, and more. He also believes any attempt to take or hold the mountains and hills will get you slaughtered. So, he wants to take a half measure, and start up patrols around the mountains. While a squad is unlikely to actually kill an oni, it will be enough to evacuate the area and push back the weaker monsters. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 40 Upkeep:20 Reward: Small bonus to yearly operations. +50 Funding for public protection.
[] Here Be Monsters-Coast: A big problem with the Kyushu shoreline isn't mundane pollution. Rather, it's the fact that it's swarming with snake women, fish women, and ox spiders. These coastal creatures are typically ones that lure you in and consume you. Now, this would be a problem, if you didn't have a cadre of soldiers totally fine with harpooning the seemingly innocuous woman sitting topless on the shoreline. Okimoto wants to set up a coastal patrol to decimate the blood suckers. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 40 Upkeep: 20 Time: 1 year Reward: Small bonus to yearly operations. +50 Funding for public protection.
Diplomacy: Your chief diplomat is a woman named Kawayama Kiriyo,a woman with long, braided, brown hair and business wear. She's cheerful, kind and overall a very genuine person. Or so you thought, until she met Okimoto and immediately became a brusque and professional expert. Okimoto grunted his approval and moved on. Kawayama was all smiles again, but she probably wanted you to notice. If there's one thing Kawayama is an expert in, it would be twisting people's perceptions of her. You couldn't ask for a better asset. Pick 1
[] Shooting Monsters Together-Hellsing: You've heard good things about the Hellsing organization. Started by the original Hellsing, the organization has done very well killing vampires and ghouls throughout the centuries of its existence. While that doesn't seem like much, apparently vampires spread like weeds over there, so it's understandable. You've also heard that the line of succession has been rather bumpy as of late. This is likely an ideal time to get in good with your fellow monster hunters. Cost: 0 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Diplomatic ties with Hellsing
[] Shooting Monsters Together-Iscariot: Iscariot is the Vatican's supernatural hunting organization. You've heard some interesting things about their scorched earth policies that put you off somewhat. Besides that, there are also some nasty rumors about Iscariot specializing in heretic hunting as well. Considering that everyone is a heretic to the Catholics that could be an ill omen. Still, they can't be that bad, right? Cost: 0 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 30% Reward: Diplomatic ties with Iscariot
[] An Incorporeal Hand, Please?: There are spirits and other creatures that you can ask for help. The problem is actually getting them to help. Put out some divine feelers and see what crazy spirits out there are interested in giving you a hand. Cost: 50 Upkeep:0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Varies depending on how well you roll.
Stewardship: Your manager is an old man who looks upon you with an undisguised sneer. Ito Yoson is an expert with finances and policy, which just barely makes up for his irritable and asshole personality. His entire views on women, youth and even race just kind of makes you want to beat him. Despite this, he's already planning ways to make you money, so you, as many already do, manage to drown your moral issues with lots of cash. Pick 1
[] Industrial Revolution: When Ito heard about the mass production of seals, he was overjoyed. Then he learned about how exactly they were going about it, and almost tore his hair out in frustration. According to your finance manager, your acolytes and other more minor positions among the priesthood were essentially devoted interns. While you fail to see the significance of that statement, he tells you that you can maximize production tenfold by simply having the acolytes and the rest do the complicated calligraphy, while the priests bless them to activate it. He even believes that you could sell it to your more religious population in order to generate more income with your surplus. They're sure to be a hit in Kyoto, he thinks. Cost: 50 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 75% Reward: No more upkeep for Mass Produced Seals, +100 Commercial income, troops won't run out.
[] Making Home: You need more room. You have a nice underground base, but it's not very homely. The priests have done their best, but they're also rather concerned with how lacking the base is with spiritual connections. See about finding a base in a solidly spiritual background, with lots of room for all your vehicles and troops. Cost:50 Upkeep: 20 Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Large Base, More Stewardship Options available, Basic Spiritual defenses.
Intrigue: Your spymaster is Wakai Munoto. He's also batshit insane. Ironically, about half of his delusions are real, which has the added effect of not being able to tell if he really is crazy, or just sees spirits and kami that even you can't. A question to ponder. For now, Munoto is just interested in making sure you know what you need to know. And a few things you really didn't need to know. Pick 1
[] Informants-The World: Wakai has contacts all over the world who is willing to help him gather information. Wakainthen has a second system of informants all over the world willing to feed him supernatural information. Wakain hasn't interacted with them much besides barking at them on his bad days, but now that you need to know, he can get some basic information. Cost: 50 Upkeep: 30 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 90% Reward: Information on all of the basic areas of the world, Rumor Mill at the end of each turn.
[] Scouting-Japan: Given half a chance, Wakai could tell you all about Japan, down to the name of the fifth right turn when you enter Nagisaki. What he can't tell you is the spiritual contents of those areas. Wakai wishes to fix that. Showing up at your office wearing a dead raccoon on his head, Wakai asks you for permission to scout out Japan and construct an idea of the factions with the spirit world of your home country. Cost: 50 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Reward: Information on the factions present within your country.
Piety: You actually have two religious advisors. Imai Denbe, a Buddhist monk, is a kind and unobtrusive individual. In his mid-thirties, his primary features are a shaved head and a patient smile for everyone. Inokuma Toju, the forty year old Shinto priest, is rather different. He's not scornful like Ito is, but he has a sense of severity to him. He mandates that whenever you meet him, you purify your hands, for one. Whether this is him telling you you're impure or his way of protecting you and himself from impurity, you aren't sure. Still, he does his job eagerly, and so you can't begrudge him for that. Pick 1
[] Sealing Is An Art: Now, you and the other priests can get quite uppity about the details of sealing, you'll admit to that. Of course, when someone refers to it as "magic scribbles" they deserve the kick to the crotch they get. You will admit that most of sealing is simply a special form of calligraphy. The problem with sealing is that many of them are specialized. Once you get into the stronger spirits, they require seals tailored to them and their abilities. With your rapid response teams, you won't always have the time to painstakingly craft a seal for an oni or other such powerful spirits beforehand. So, you should set up teams that carry one large scroll, upon which they start writing the seal for any powerful enemies you encounter. Cost:50 Upkeep: 30 Time: 2 years Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Mid-Tier Sealing Squads
[] Violent Pacifism: After their work with memorizing the sutras, a few of your soldiers are starting to look towards Buddhism as solutions to peace in their daily life. This would be fine, except the Buddha primarily teaches compassion and peace as ideal lifestyles. You bring this up with Denbe, but he alleviates your concerns. According to him, the Buddha is willing to allow violence if it's in pursuit of a noble cause. To him, yours is the most noble cause, as you fight directly against those forces attempting to spread corruption and impurity throughout the land. He would be glad to teach those willing the ways of the warrior monk, and in return, you'd gain a supernatural fighting force capable of cleansing demons and inhuman feats of physical prowess. Cost: 50 Upkeep: 50 Time: 2 years Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Five Warrior Monks, +1d2 Warrior Monks every year.
[] The Impurity Division: It rankles you to admit, but not every monster can be slain with seals and guns. Already you are hearing reports from Wakai about monsters that make zombies from their victims and can sprint faster than a train. Such a monster cannot be defeated by your warriors as they are. And they appear like weeds in a garden over in Europe. As such, you find yourself considering the possibility of creating cursed objects. If you could learn to wield the powers of the youkai, you would have an immense source of power. Imagine a man capable of wielding the strength of a youkai, or weaving spells like a kijo… you wonder if this is how demons are created. Cost: 100 Upkeep: 0 Time: 3 years Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Impurity Division created, new research unlocked.
[] Recruitment Drive. For all their differences, Inokuma and Imai agree on one thing. You need more spiritual experts. However, priests aren't easily trained. So they want to do a covert recruitment drive throughout temples and the like in the entirety of Japan. While this is expensive, it's also guaranteed to net you some combat capable priests. Cost: 50 Upkeep: 50 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 50% Every year, you get 1d5 onmyoji and 1d5 monks.
[] Back To Basics: Well, the kami already showed them how absolutely foolish your priests had been. Some of them were still nursing their wallets in pain, or trying to get their significant others to call them back. Now, it's your duty to remind them how to show respect to the kami. They have been so busy focusing on how to fight youkai that they've been slacking in their study of the kami. Well, you're going to make sure that they know every river and hill god from Okinawa to the tip of Japan! Cost: 0 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 90% Reward: Priests won't fuck up with the kami. Massive boost to Appease The Spirits action.
Learning: Your resident scientist is fairly excitable. Apparently, Kaibara Tamaki had already theorized on the existence of youkai, and had gotten laughed out of her laboratory for it. Now, she not only had verification that they existed, she got to dream up new ways to kill them! Really, it was a dream come true. Pick 1
[] Needs More Penetration: It is a fact that most of your opponents possess much tougher skin than you do. Bullets don't do much to Oni after all. So, Kaibara had a thought. What do you use to break through something strong? Spikes! But no one has the brawn or stupidity to try to stab an oni with a big spike. So, you move to plan B. Namely, shooting spikes! Essentially, it'd be a harpoon without the rope, if you shoot the harpoon at the same speed as a bullet. Or somewhere around there. Kaibara isn't sure how she'd manage that, but dammit, she'll do her best! Cost: 50 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Heavy Impaler Units
[] Leftovers: Every year, you kill a variety of youkai and monsters. What about what's left though? The remains of youkai are supernaturally strong, and have the ability to do astounding things. Have your researchers look into new ways to use these hides, teeth and claws, hopefully increasing your effectiveness by leaps and bounds. Cost: 20 Upkeep: 0 Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Learning options unlocked to re-use youkai parts
Personal: Now there's you. You're definitely in a busy position, but you don't need to oversee everything. That's what your department heads are for. So now you need to decide what to do with your time. Pick 1
[] Train: You are a Shinto priestess, and as such, do have the training to fight youkai and other spirits. Unfortunately, you haven't had the opportunity to put that to good use. So now you need to brush up on your skills. With any luck, you can become much more proficient. Cost: 0 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Reward: +2 Martial, +2 Piety
[] Wake Up The Tsukumogami: A tsukumogami is an item that has seen over a century of use, gaining awareness and a soul. You have one in your line, and it is potent. It works without waking it up, but the spirit actually staying awake could give you both some much needed advice, and increase the chances of success against any resisting spirits. Cost: 0 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 80% Rewards: Spirit tool wakes up, gives advice and power.
[] You're Only Somewhat Crazy: Wakai is tormented by delusions due to having seen rampant spirits throughout his youth, and believing that they weren't real. After years of living like that, he eventually had a mental breakdown, and lived life as a broken man until he was picked up by the intelligence community. Now he has confirmation that the spirit world is real, and you can tell that is pushes on him. Despite this information, he still suffers from occasional bouts of dementia. Walk him through his life and try to part the real from the fake. Perhaps it will help him come to terms with it? Cost: 0 Upkeep: 0 Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Wakai can put his personal bonus onto Intrigue actions.
[] Personal Attention: You direct your personal attention to a project, allowing for an increased chance of success. Cost: 0 Upkeep: 0 Time: 1 year Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Your stats added to an action of your choice.
